Davison's Mill, also known as Stelling Minnis Windmill, is a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed smock mill in Stelling Minnis, Kent,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that was built in 1866. It was the last windmill working commercially in Kent when it closed in the autumn of 1970. The mill is managed by the Stelling Minnis Windmill and Museum Trust, which came into being on 26 January 2010. It is open to visitors each year from Easter Sunday to the end of September on Sundays and Bank Holidays, from 2pm to 5pm. Its grounds host the annual Stelling Minnis fete.

History

''Davison's mill'' was built in 1866 by the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

Thomas Holman, replacing an earlier open trestle

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

with common sails. Milling by wind ceased in 1925, but the mill continued to work by a

Ruston & Hornsby Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow gauge railway, narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of ...

oil engine which had been added in 1923. In April 1935, the mill was restored to full working order. The work was financed by H Laurie, as a memorial to her brother Colonel Ronald Macdonald Laurie, who had died on 21 October 1927. Laurie was awarded a Windmill Certificate by the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

in 1936. One pair of sails was blown off in the early 1950s, and the mill worked afterwards with a single pair, assisted by the engine. Elham Rural District Council donated £100 towards the cost of repairs estimated at £500 in the 1950s. (Original source:- Milling, 19 September 1953) When Alec Davison retired in the autumn of 1970, the mill was the last in Kent working commercially by wind. After the death of Mr Davison, the mill was acquired by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

. A restoration of the mill commenced in 2003, with the sails being taken down on 19 July and the cap removed on 20 July. The work was financed by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and Kent County Council. It was carried out by IJP Millwrights of

Binfield Heath Binfield Heath is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, south-southwest of Henley-on-Thames and northeast of Reading on a southern knoll of the Chiltern Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 709. The v ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and took three months to complete.

Description

''Davison's mill'' is a four-storey smock mill with a stage at first-floor level. It is built on a low brick base only high. The mill is tall to the top of the cap. It has four

patent sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound rou ...

carried on a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

windshaft. The mill is winded by a

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...

. The mill drives two pairs of

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s underdrift. The Brake wheel is iron. This drives a cast-iron Wallower. The Great Spur Wheel is also of cast iron. The engine is a

"1912" hot-bulb engine, which was despatched from Holman's in Canterbury on 7 May 1923.

Millers

*Colver (post mill) *George Goble 1866 - 1878 *Henry William Davison 1878 - *Alec Davison 1940 - 1970 References for above:-

References

External links

Stelling Minnis Windmill and Museum
- official site

on the mill. {{Museums in Kent Windmills in Kent Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Smock mills in England Grade I listed buildings in Kent Monuments and memorials in Kent Windmills completed in 1866 Museums in Folkestone and Hythe District Mill museums in England Grade I listed windmills Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom 1866 establishments in England